May Sales

+1

I can wait. Question is can they? Odds are in your favor.

 

What's w/Toyota, Nissan and Honda building cars "nobody wants"?

 

Finally some good news.

 

They're probably still catching a few suckers and the sales manual hasn't changed yet.

Most of the people here are not suckers...information is not always an advantage to the salesman.

 

I got a million of 'em!

The Chevy dealer within walking distance of the Honda dealer seems willing enough to let me drool over the Vettes while my Honda gets its tires changed, and we all know the two Z06s in the showroom have been there for months--they ain't foolin nobody. But I didn't actually try to buy one, and it would be interesting to find out what they could do with the $81k sticker on the red Z06. You could always say, sheesh I can buy a perfectly good 360, or two 3x8s, for 81k, and see if it motivates them. If it doesn't, then carry out the threat!

 

Leaving aside the exotics question, what I found interesting about this is that, assuming May is reasonably representative of average sales throught the year, a figure of under 1million units puts the year total below the 14million units that according to a "Time" article earlier this year is the number required to cover new licenses / cars removed from service. So the question is - does this mean people are delaying replacements and there will be a 'boom' when things start to look a little brighter? OR is there such an overhang from the previous few years (when sales were running more 15-17m mark) that sales are going to be flat for a long time? I'm afraid I tend to think the latter - too many people have bought cars they don't need / can't afford and the overhang is going to take a long time to get trimmed back.

 

The average family does not need 4 cars. Some of those are being shed. That and its not necessary to have the latest model every year. Most manufacturers aren't making huge improvements in their models, so the value proposition isn't there.

 

Now if GM could kick out P4/5s for under 20 grand, I might have to pick one up

just kidding

If we're talking masses, and by that I mean 7MM units, then I would think super high mileage & cheaper cars would be enough to get those people to buy. I'm not in that list, but basically the next wave of college students, etc.

But XM radio alone isn't gonna cut it

 

Worldwide sales

Source:FIAT GROUP

For Q1 2009, Ferrari reported €441 million in revenues, down 3.3% over the
corresponding period for 2008 due to lower sales volumes which reflected the slowdown
in the global economy.
A total of 1,571 cars were delivered to the network during the quarter, a 5% decrease
over Q1 2008, while sales to end-customers totalled 1,480 units (-10%). Of note is the
positive sales performance of the new Ferrari California in the second part of the quarter.
Ferrari closed the quarter with a trading profit of €54 million (€59 million for Q1 2008).
Efficiency gains in production costs and overhead substantially offset the negative impact
of lower sales volumes and unfavourable exchange rates.
Ferrari started the year with the presentation of two new products, both unveiled at the
Geneva Motor Show. The Handling GT Evoluzione (HGTE) performance package for the
599 GTB Fiorano and the 599XX. The HGTE package enhances the handling
performance and responsiveness of the 599 GTB Fiorano. The 599XX, on the other
hand, is targeted at a select customer base who desire the highest level of technological
innovation available.

 

I don't think I'm reading it wrong but in May report the only positive sales were Rools and kia.....does it means that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer...Not saying that only poor people buy Kia's but only the the rich can afford new Rool's for sure

 

Or in the modern world of GM and Dodge: adding 10-25 horsepower beyond the Japanese and European cars in the same size segment and calling that "better". If 0-60 times equated to sales and profit, GM would be set...unfortunately, reliability, quality of materials, and something they have never cared anything about -- the ownership experience (which relies heavily on the way dealer service centers treat customers) are more important in most consumers' minds.

And then there's that whole thing about styling and building cars for the correct demographic. Pony car target age in 1968: 18-30. Pony car design/style demographic in 2005-2009: 50-65. Maybe this explains why the best-selling pony car in this decade is the Civic, not the Mustang or Camaro.

 

It would be interesting to add the 06 and 07 May figures to the list to show a real trend.

Russell

 

i left deposit on a california with my local dealer, full price. delivery in 6-7 mos. now im a little nervous about it. am i a sucker for doing that instead of waiting for a used car with nice discount in a year

 

Fear factor:
Heavy trucks are the backbone of Industry...

GM & Ford Heavy Truck Total ....... 1,328 ...............4,201 ............. -68.4%


You'd be hard-pressed to find a 68% year on year decline in heavy trucks sales...ever.

 

Chrysler is a privately held company so the numbers do not have to be reported in the same manner as the other companies. However that being said, Chrysler is now in bankruptcy so they do have to report but the reporting can be delayed. Are you confused yet? LOL

 

Not to get off on a tangent here Mike, but seriously I am a professional independent currency trader (I don't have to BS people like the Government or CNBC ) and the truth is that numbers are embelished big time. For example unemployment numbers are grossly undertated and have been since the second half of the Clinton era. Real unemployment in the US is just over 20%. I know there are plenty who won't believe me but compare apples to apples. The unemployment figures during the Great Depression and up untill Clinton were taken from the U2 numbers (no not the awesome band from Dublin). Since Clinton the unemployment numbers are taken from the U8 numbers which are grossly underestimated. For example, a person who's unemployment runs out (this is happening now even after the last extension of benefits) is no longer considered unemployed. They are not considered at all. On the other side, someone who has two part-time jobs in order to get by (about 10 to 15% of our population) counts as two people employed.

So that being said, not sure exactly how car sales can be embellished but I'm sure it is being done. I would not be surprised if a lease is counted twice, LOL. Hell banks not only have been able to take liabilities off of their balance sheets, Chase Bank just found a loophole that allows them to count some losses as profits. Other banks are now using that loophole along with other businesses. Wonder why the stock market is climbing?

Sorry guys, don't mean to get on a tangent here but I have been absolutely disgusted by the absolute lies over the last two years about the economy. I'm doing great but I have plenty of friends who aren't and plenty of friends whose life came tumbling around them and they were not prepared for it because they were told everything was fine. This is not going to change over night and we are entering the next phase down but most people think things are improving ("Green Shoots"). Car sales will be hurting for some time.

 

Right on!

 

Take a look at the article in the current "Time" mag and spare a thought for the Mo. Dodge dealer who's been given three weeks to clear his lot of $1.5m worth of inventory...IMHO, the management of all the Big 3 should probably be jailed for pure incompetency. Same article has some very interesting figures comparing GM 1962 to 2009 - somehow although GMs staffing figures had reduced to 20% (of '62 numbers) they made 41% increased revenue on building 30% fewer cars but still managed to turn a profit ($1.46b) into a loss (-$30.9b)?

 

Just for perspective on sales...

 

I believe the sales for last year may be inflated due to incentives in place to encourage the trucking industry to retire older more-polluting rigs and replace them with new trucks designed for the ultralow sulphur diesel. 2008 numbers may have been artificially high. The market is still horrible but maybe not as bad as these numbers suggest. Don't know for sure.

 

The heavy buying to avoid the new pollution regs was in 2006: http://norris.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/12/21/the-coming-truck-bust/


Ford Heavy Trucks sales for May of 2007: 1,079 ...... and for May of 2006: 1,082
GM ??

 

Time flies when you're have fun. My dates were off, sorry.